Managing through information (finance exam) Essay

Managing through information (finance exam) - Essay Example However, the major point of concern is the Gearing Ratio, which has dramatically increased from 0% to 36.1446% in a year due to the long-term loan, this increases the risk of investment, and in addition the Dividend Payout Ratio has also decreased from 40% to 21.28%, which is a bad signal for the shareholders. In 2008 no interest had to be paid, but in 2009 interest also needs to be paid from the reserves, thereby reducing reinvestment into the company. Johnsons Ltd. should focus upon clearing the debt as early as possible, and clarify to the investors that it is for the betterment of the company. Furthermore, it should try to reduce the gearing ratio by increasing ordinary shares, either through new issuance or issue of bonus shares. Financial ratios aid in analyzing, controlling and improving the performance of a company, it also helps in attaining loans from banks, it can provide sufficient information to analyze the liquidity and performance of the firm, and points out the areas requiring improvement. However, ratios have certain limitations as well, for larger companies it is difficult to make comparative analysis as it becomes extremely complicated, firms set their targets at average instead of following market leaders, hampering the efficiency of the company. The major drawback of ratio analysis is that it does not account for inflation and therefore can mislead the managers. Apart from inflation, seasonal variations can create distortions in the results as well, furthermore many valuations used in the ratios such as depreciations, inventory, bad debts etc are approximates and can thus affect the end result. The user of these ratios must know how to differentiate between wrong results and should be capable of adjusting to various situations (Besley and Brigham, 2008, 68). It is obvious from the calculations that none of the three proposals is good, since they give fewer profits than the current system, Proposal A

The north and south labour systems and effect on American Civil War Essay

The north and south labour systems and effect on American Civil War - Essay Example According to Levine (2005), southern secession happened because they wanted to fight for the maintenance of the slavery institution in the United States of America. This is because their economy largely depended on the labor that was provided mainly by slaves. The northern part had grown economically because of the increased immigration from Europe. Therefore, they had enough labor for their production activities. There were many industries in the north and people enjoyed liberty and freedom that was characterized by the availability of land for everyone. On the other hand, the south depended on bonded labor for production. Few people owned large parcels of land in the south with many people owning small pieces of land. Many others were slaves and had to work on the large farms owned by few. In the years before the start of the civil war, Americans in the North and Northern west had different economic interests with the Americans living in the South and Southwest America. Despite the fact that the civil war in America was caused by a combination of other factors, the divergent economic interests contributed to the animosity that existed between the North and the South. They contributed to the establishment of the confederacy and the victory achieved by the union. The United States of America was an agricultural hub before, during and just after the civil war. Three quarters of the population in America lived in rural areas. The rural areas comprised of farms and small towns. Despite the fact that factories were established in the North and South, the establishment of industries and industrial manufacturing activities took place in the North. In 1860, the South had an estimated 25 percent of free population but only accounted for 10 percent of the capital of the country. The development of industries in the North was five times more that of the South. The number of factory workers in the North exceeded that of the South by ten times. Ninety percent of the skilled labor in the United States of America was in the North (Levine, 2005). The above information shows that the labor characteristics in the North and South were remarkably different. Labor in the North was expensive and laborers were not tied to a particular station. Workers were very active and mobile. The competition in the labor market was intensified by the immigration from Europe and Asia. This influenced the rising of wages in the sense that wages remained relatively constant (Levine, 2005). The economy of the south was founded on the labor provided by African Americans who worked as slaves. They were exploited, oppressed and forced to provide cheap labor. Mo st white families did not own slaves. Out of 1.6 million families, about 384,000 owned slaves. Most of the families who owned slaves had about 20 slaves or less. However, those who owned many slaves were about 10,000 and owned large plantations. When Eli Whitney invented cotton gin, southern planters and farmers

Vulnerable Population in Current Events Essay Example for Free

Vulnerable Population in Current Events Essay Vulnerability comes in different shapes and forms. It applies to different settings and also populations. Vulnerability has two categories; individualize that means a person is vulnerable within a context. The other is a group, because of susceptibility to external or internal factors directly related to a population despite what is occurring with other people or groups (De Chesney, P. 3 2012). Here the focus is on a vulnerable population of obese patients. The article speaks about how health care providers can have stigmatizing attitudes toward obese patients (Malterud Ulriksen, 2011,p. 1). Highlighted factors focus on the barriers the obese population encounters by providers who have made prejudgments on the patients, how it affects the outcome of the care of the patients and what effects it has for their road to recovery. A vulnerable population according to De Chesney (2012) is defined as a group of people at risk of poor physical, psychological or social health. Vulnerability by virtue in status. A group of people who are at risk at any given point relative to another individual or group (p. 4). The obese patients are the vulnerable population because of their genetic predispositions and life circumstances. They are not categorized by their cultural vulnerability but rather due to this similar physical nature. In the article the obese patients faced many barriers, which prevented them from obtaining the resources need. Many of them were viewed as patients who did not take responsibility for their eating habits or did not have the motivation and will power to succeed in their predisposition. Providers view them as the main cause for the obesity and non-improvement. â€Å" A recent review demonstrated that also health care providers endorsed stereotypical assumptions about patients with obesity and attribute obesity to blame† (Malterud Ulriksen, 2011,p. 1). â€Å"The stigmas and prejudgments of the providers and society are seen as exploitation (keeping people down), norm enforcement (keeping people in), and disease avoidance (keeping people away†) (De Chesney, 2011, p. 1). Many of the patients believed their needs were not met as far as caring for their health conditions because many of the doctors were associating every issue, symptoms, or discomfort to their weight. Also many of the obese patients thought they did not have the equal amount of care, time or consideration as other patients because they were believed to be lazy. However, the study also showed providers supportive of the obese patient also feels a sense of discomfort when caring for him or her. A situation, which showed female nurses who believed fat, was unhealthy, and related to coronary heart disease wanted to enforce the importance of weight loss. Many of them did express they felt uncomfortable to do so in fear of insulting the patient or making him or her feel uncomfortable. They had seen the discussion of weight as a sensitive topic. This made them pass on giving the education (Malterud Ulriksen, 2011, p. 4). In experiences during one’s nursing career many situations come to mind when thinking of an obese patient, prejudgment, and stigmas that are related. One can recall a few situations, such as nurses immediately becoming upset because the patient does not fit on the bed. If the patient is admitted the process of calling bed board to bring down a â€Å"Big boy bed to accommodate the large patient seemed to annoy the nurse. Other reasons, such as testing or meeting the needs of comfort for the patient. What seemed to be out of the ordinary routine for their patient the nurses tended to become annoyed and did not realize the patients are very much aware of his or her feelings and stigma toward them. If an obese patient needs different accommodations it is not his or her fault. Should the blame not be placed on the facility for not providing small things such as large gown, larger stretchers, and easier ways of transportation for the larger patients. Society decided to place a label on a patient who may not have control over his or her size and has enforced it to apply to the country. The only way this problem will improve if it starts with the health care system and providers. In conclusion the vulnerable population of obese patients need to be cared for by providers who have empathy toward them. It is important to the patients care and does not add stress to an already difficult situation (Malterud Ulriksen, 2011). They need to support the patients and provide them with other avenues and build on the confidence need to succeed. The stigmatization needs to end and not incorporate it into the care. According to Malterud and Ulriksen (2011) â€Å"Existing research indicates that such attitudes may actually increase the maladaptive eating behaviors, exercise avoidance and in some cases reduce motivation to lose weight.† (p. 10). Therefore, health care professional who have obese patients to care for are the first line of defense to brake the bad habits and stigmas associated with obesity. A provider has to recognize the effort their patients have tried to make in managing their weight issues (Malterud Ulriksen, 2011). References De Chesney, M. (2012). Caring for the Vulnerable: Perspectives in Nursing Theory, Practice and Research, 3e. Retrieved from The University of Phoenix eBook Collection database. Malterud, K., Ulriksen, K. (2011). Obesity, stigma, and responsibility in health care: A synthesis of qualitative studies. International Journal of Qualitative Studies on Health and Well-being, 6(4), 1-11. Retrieved from http://www.doaj.org/doaj?func=abstractid=880959q1=vulnerable%20patientf1=allb1=orq2=caring%20for%20vulnerable%20ptatientsf2=allrecNo=1uiLanguage=en

Portrayal Of Lucy Westenra And Mina Murray English Literature Essay

Portrayal Of Lucy Westenra And Mina Murray English Literature Essay Dracula, the 1897 novel by Bram Stoker, is a tale composed against a background of social concerns and anxieties of Victorian England in a rapidly changing world. One of the most important upheavals in this time of turmoil concerned feminism and the role of women in Victorian society, with the terrifying spectre of the  ¿Ã‚ ½New Woman ¿Ã‚ ½ solidifying rapidly into a real threat. In Victorian England, gender roles were distinct, with women being expected to confine themselves to the domestic realm and become  ¿Ã‚ ½the Angel in the House, ¿Ã‚ ½ responsible for setting a moral example for her children and being of complete service to her husband. In examining how the female characters  ¿Ã‚ ½ Lucy Westenra and Mina Murray/Harker  ¿Ã‚ ½ are dealt with in Dracula, a greater insight will be gained into the degree of transformation undertaken by the women from a Victorian woman to a New Woman in the face of Dracula ¿Ã‚ ½s seductive power. Lucy Westenra is initially depicted as innocent, beautiful, and virtuous ¿Ã‚ ½not at all the sexual suspect or foreigner that would seem to indicate a susceptibility to vampirism. Despite this appearance of her character, however, the behaviour of Lucy, even before she succumbed to vampirism, would have been questionable to a Victorian audience. Most notably, she takes a sort of gloating pleasure in having been proposed to three times in one day (Stoker 86). Even more disturbing to a Victorian reader, Lucy muses,  ¿Ã‚ ½Why can ¿Ã‚ ½t they let a girl marry three men, or as many as want her ¿Ã‚ ½? ¿Ã‚ ½ (Stoker 90). Although she immediately dismisses the idea as blasphemy, the reader gets the sense that she was serious. This reluctance to confine herself to one man is not her only sign of questionable sexuality. Lucy sleepwalks,  ¿Ã‚ ½a habit traditionally associated with sexual looseness ¿Ã‚ ½ in Victorian England (Spencer 210). Despite Lucy ¿Ã‚ ½s seeming virtue, there are indications that her sexuality is on the verge of asserting its appetites throughout the early portions of the novel. This blooming sexuality is what makes her susceptible to vampiric attack. As Lucy succumbs to Dracula ¿Ã‚ ½s advances, she comes to resemble the vampire women encountered by Harker. Her sexuality becomes more blatant as her vampirism progresses. When she is dying, she speaks to Arthur in a  ¿Ã‚ ½soft, voluptuous voice, ¿Ã‚ ½ a phrase which recalls the voluptuousness of the three female vampires in Castle Dracula (Stoker 237). Her initiation into the vampire group becomes complete when Van Helsing notes that the two bite marks on her neck have completely disappeared (Stoker 235). Later, Stoker describes vampiric Lucy as moving with a  ¿Ã‚ ½voluptuous grace ¿Ã‚ ½ and having a  ¿Ã‚ ½wanton smile ¿Ã‚ ½ (Stoker 310). She has become the aggressive female through contact with Dracula. Lucy is now fully endowed with masculine appetites and, like the fanged women Harker encountered, she is acting as a dominant presence over males. She has become monstrous and unnatural, which is in keeping with the Victorian idea of  ¿Ã‚ ½the sexualization of woman as deformation ¿Ã‚ ½ (Craft 120). This unnaturalness is also emphatically underscored by her rejection of the mother role typically associated with women during this time period. Instead of nursing the child  ¿Ã‚ ½clutched strenuously to her breast, ¿Ã‚ ½ she feeds from it, slowly killing it (Stoker 310). Dracula is to blame for Lucy ¿Ã‚ ½s metamorphosis into a monstrosity,  ¿Ã‚ ½for he is the ultimate social adulterer, whose purpose is nothing if it is not to turn good Englishwomen like Lucyaway from their own kind and customs ¿Ã‚ ½ (Stevenson 140). However horrifying Lucy ¿Ã‚ ½s transformation might have been to a Victorian audience, Mina Harker ¿Ã‚ ½s aborted metamorphosis would have been even more horrible. As Van Helsing says,  ¿Ã‚ ½she is one of God ¿Ã‚ ½s women, fashioned by His own hand ¿Ã‚ ½ (Stoker 277). Mina seems to fit the ideal of the Victorian Woman, as a virtuous, devout, almost asexual individual. While she sometimes acts as the quiet organiser of the men, she is generally meek and servile to their wishes, for example, she learns typing and short-hand with the main motive of being of use to her future husband Jonathan. Stoker never reveals anything detailed about Mina ¿Ã‚ ½s physical appearance, and she seems to be an object of adulation rather than desire. Mina acts as more of a mother figure to Jonathan,  ¿Ã‚ ½nursing him through his illness. ¿Ã‚ ½ The motherly-wife and nurtured husband were considered the ideal spouses in Victorian England (Spencer 216). Mina is quite literally the Angel in the House, or the ideal Woman embodied. Yet even the ideal demonstrates vulnerability when forced into an overtly sexual situation. Mina, through no fault of her own, becomes subject to Dracula ¿Ã‚ ½s advances, yet seems to take some enjoyment in them despite her horror. During her last encounter with the Count, as he drank from her neck, she admitted that she  ¿Ã‚ ½did not want to hinder him ¿Ã‚ ½ (Stoker 425). This desire for the Count would have been damnable to a Victorian audience, who saw sexual desire rather than sexual activity [as] ¿Ã‚ ½the true source of danger ¿Ã‚ ½ (Spencer 217). Although Mina never makes the full transformation into the aggressive, sexualized female vampire, there are aspects of her character that bend gender expectations a bit. Specifically, Dr. Van Helsing remarks upon her level of intelligence numerous times as being abnormal for a young woman. When Mina tells Van Helsing that she can inform him all about what happened to Lucy, he remarks,  ¿Ã‚ ½Ah, then you have a good memory for facts, for details? It is not always so with young ladies ¿Ã‚ ½ (Stoker 269). He also repeatedly calls her,  ¿Ã‚ ½you so clever woman ¿Ã‚ ½ (Stoker 269). If a learned man such as Van Helsing compliments Mina ¿Ã‚ ½s intelligence, then it might be safe to assume that men did not expected to encounter a woman with such common sense during the Victorian era. As Van Helsing puts it,  ¿Ã‚ ½[Mina] has a man ¿Ã‚ ½s brain ¿Ã‚ ½a brain that a man should have were he much gifted ¿Ã‚ ½ (Stoker 345). To a certain extent, Mina is becoming a modern woman by demonstrating her intelligence and therefore somewhat defying the gender stereotype of women being inferior to men. However, she doesn ¿Ã‚ ½t pose any really threat to the dominant male as she uses her intelligence to help others on a divine mission rather than furthering her own interests, a Victorian audience could perhaps accept this inversion of gender roles. Like Lucy, Mina become contaminated by Dracula and slowly becomes deracinated, growing more like a vampire and less like an Englishwoman. However, before her transformation is complete, Dracula is killed and Mina is re-assimilated into English society with little difficulty, providing a happy ending for the Victorian audience. Both Lucy and Mina are introduced in the novel as embodiments of the Victorian woman ideal, a role of purity and femininity. However, when the women begin to transform into vampires, they are seen to take on traditional male roles, which undoubtedly horrified the Victorian reader. However, neither of these two women are allowed any agency; even through their  ¿Ã‚ ½infidelities ¿Ã‚ ½, they play the passive role, Lucy asleep while blood is pumped from each man into her, and Mina ¿Ã‚ ½s seduction described in terms of  ¿Ã‚ ½forcing a kitten ¿Ã‚ ½s nose into a saucer of milk to compel it to drink ¿Ã‚ ½. It is Dracula, the monstrous, foreign creature that is blamed for the corruption of Lucy and Mina. The role of the Victorian man is clear here, as the vampire hunters act out what they feel is their duty  ¿Ã‚ ½ to rescue their women from the clutches of Dracula and vampirism and return them to holiness. They return their women to their rightful place and re-establish proper roles, by a violent  ¿Ã‚ ½staking ¿Ã‚ ½ Lucy. This metaphorical rape, repeated by Van Helsing with the three Transylvanian vampires,  ¿Ã‚ ½re-establishes normative models of both gender and history ¿Ã‚ ½, imposing male reason on female sexuality, with the women  ¿Ã‚ ½grat eful and passive toward their brave male deliverer ¿Ã‚ ½. In Carmilla, Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu takes the tradition male power role and gives it to the women, while Stoker, in Dracula, repossesses the female body for pleasure and exchange and puts the power back in the hands of men. In Carmilla we meet a woman who bears angelic features in her outward appearance only. At first, she seems to be the ideal companion for Laura fulfilling all Victorian claims. The homosocial bond between women served patriarchy to keep women whom they treated rather as objects than as individual beings with a will of their own out of the so-called male business. As the idea of the new woman with their social, political, and sexual freedom was feared in society, Carmilla is feared by Laura ¿Ã‚ ½s father as soon as he notices her dangerous potential. The role of the female vampire identifies and challenges gender roles of women in the Victorian age, as well as symbolise New Women. Carmilla, goes even further in its defiance of the male/female heterosexual norm by featuring a lesbian relationship between its two main characters, only made possibly through the vampirism and supernatural nature of the story. It is through Carmilla and Laura ¿Ã‚ ½s homosexual relationship that they are able to gain freedom from male dominance and a patriarchal society. Besides marriage, becoming a vampire is one of the only ways that female sexuality is licensed in the Victorian era. While Bram Stoker ¿Ã‚ ½s Dracula has laid the foundations for the horror genre of film and literature, it also provides some interesting social commentary about Victorian England. In particular, the female characters and their relationships to the issues of sexuality, gender roles, and nationality are very revealing about the anxieties of the times. In their full and partial transformation into vampires, Lucy and Mina lose their feminine passivity and innocence and are expected to become like the highly sexualised and immoral succubi trio. They go from being sweet and pure Victorian women (female victims) to being  ¿Ã‚ ½languorous[ly] voluptuous ¿Ã‚ ½ and  ¿Ã‚ ½carnal and unspiritual ¿Ã‚ ½ New Women (female vampires). This is precisely the perceived danger represented by the New Woman. However, because Mina is never fully transformed and manages to be restored to her role as a Victorian woman, it can be concluded that Lucy better represents the New Woman archetype as she completes the transition to vampire and in doing so gains sexual and social freedom from the constraints on women in Victorian society.

Prejudice in Harper Lees To Kill a Mockingbird Essay -- Harper Lee Mo

Prejudice in Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird To Kill A Mockingbird is a novel which can deceive the reader into thinking that it is very simple. However, if the reader delves beneath the surface, she may find that there are a number of complex themes running through the novel. One of the central themes in this novel is the prejudice that was characteristic of southern town in the 1930?s. A variety of prejudices combine to form the character of the town of Maycomb. The three main prejudices encountered are those of race, class, and sex. The prejudice of race, in the novel, makes the words of a lower-class white woman from a ne?er do well family readily accepted against those of a Negro with an upstanding reputation. When Tom Robinson is accused of rape by Mayella Ewell, southern society and societal prejudice against blacks must be upheld. In spite of the flimsiness of Mayella?s accusation against a black man whose one arm is withered, the white of Maycomb are bound to believe Mayella simply because she is white. Despite Tom?s upstanding reputation, the people of Maycomb cannot allow a white woman?s accusation go unanswered because doing so would make the white element seem less superior. For these reasons the people of Maycomb form a mob in an attempt to persuade Atticus to drop his defense of Tom Robinson. Even though most people have a less than high opinion of the Ewells, there is still that overriding solidarity that they feel must be shown against the Negro. The blacks live in their section of town, and the whites live in their section of town. This clear division must be maintained is southern society, as represented by Maycomb, is to survive. This idea of a clear division is enforce by Aunt Al... ...ly capable of taking care of themselves. Scout is constantly told to ?act like a lady?, ?dress like a lady?, and remember to keep her place. Her place seems to be with the women, who have no real role in the business of the town. Even Atticus explains to Jem and Scout that women are not allowed to serve on juries simply because they are women. He comments that women are too talkative and that justice would be halted or impeded by their many questions if they were allowed to serve on juries. These three forms of prejudice ? race, class, and sex -- are integrated into the novel and the society of Maycomb, which serves as a symbol of the southern way of life in the 1930?s. With these tools, Lee creates a graphic picture of a restrictive society which prefers to cling blindly to what has always been, rather than change its ways and accept change and progress.

ARTICLE CRITIQUE

A denied that the agency merely had a authority to intercept the emails and online communications in united states. Point According to the author, Edward snowmen is a hero. He revealed the information which people deserved to know. He put his career and life at risk. He did not contain any sensitive information which can threaten national securities. He discoursed that senior intelligence officials mislead congress. N. S. A collected the most data of these countries such as Iran, Pakistan, Jordan, India, Egypt.It tracks Americans allies more than terrorists. EVIDENCE Snowmen spent lot of time to go through from surveillance program and the data which collecting around the world. He did not reveal anything that would harm the countries such as identities or military plans. Yes, the evidence is factual which based on something that has actually occurred. When snowmen fled to Hong-Kong and Glenn Greenland who is journalists broke the story how on routinely gather the phone logs of Ameri can, who have no relation to the terrorism.RELIABILITY United Kingdom's Guardian newspaper released secret documents obtained from snowmen an American intelligence body demanding that version release information on a daily basis culled from its American customers activities. The following day, guardian and Washington times released snowman's leaked information on PRISM. Then Author published an article in New Yorker which becomes the source of information and he uploads them to the internet. SCRAP CURRENCY The information was published on jejune, 201 3 in new Yorker RELEVANCEThis information is related to my topic and indented audience is everybody. I have looked at a number of sources. Caddis, j. (201 3, jejune). Why Edward snowmen is a hero. Retrieved from http://WV. Anymore. Com/news/john- caddis/why-Edward-snowmen-is-a-hero AUTHORITY John Caddis is a writer for â€Å"The new Yorker†. He has been writing since 1995. He has had a plenty of different jobs such as a financial commenter for the BBC and a business editor. His background may make his article seems more convictive because his job needs him to think in different perspectives.ACCURACY This information released in New Yorker and it is a secondary source as well. He had lot of evidence and references to support his opinion. For example, he wrote snowmen spent months meticulously analyzing every document. The author is trying to say that snowmen prepared for his action, just upload all secret documents he had incautiously. He was being responsible for what he was doing and he knows what he should do. URL reveal about the source is commercial. PURPOSE The purpose of the information is to inform the public. Article Critique Journal of Business systems governance and ethics looks into different aspect of business ethics. It has different papers which are looking into the issue of organization ethics, human resource management, and relationship between the organization and its environment.It looks into the relationship between corporate ethics and personal ethics and how they impact no the business.   It also looks into  Ã‚   the aspect of professionalism, ethics and the life long learning among ICT professionals.This journal also looks tat negotiation decision support systems and the link between the operations strategy and human resource management for organizations like non-governmental organizations that work in unstable environment.Literature ReviewThis paper by Helen Maddeen-Hallett (2009) looks into the relationship that exists between corporations and is ethical standings in addition to the ethical standing of employees assessed within a framework of eight main dynamics. It argues that there i s a direct correlation between the ethical standards of a corporation and that of its employees because the highest ethical behavior possible for an organization equals the highest standards of its personnel.It shows that companies which behaves ethically are likely to be more profitable compared to those which are believed to be unethically exploiting resources from the public (Brenner, 1992). These organizations develop anti-trust and non-cooperation and have a cost of two and half trillion dollars per year. These organizations are also likely to damage themselves and also damage the dynamics at which they intersect.This paper identifies the main problem to be how it is possible to find ethical personnel that will result to benefit for all the related dynamics. The paper deeply explores the idea of business being a part of the whole scope of personal ethics.   It also looks at indicators of ethically minded personnel to generate important information that can be used when hiring especially middle and top management personnel.In the second paper, Agrwal (2009) looks into negotiation theory in line with game theory, psychology, and negotiation analysis. He argues that there is a trend towards Integration Negotiation Theory that brings together these three theories.The paper combines prospect theory and negotiation theory  Ã‚   in order to incorporate the risk associated in negotiations. The paper discuss development of Negotiation Decision Support System (NDSS) which is a information technology tool used in negation theory.Tatnall and Davey (2009) discusses about aspect of professionalism, ethics, and lifelong learning of ICT professionals. The article looks into how ICT professionals have found it necessary to keep on upgrading their skills in line with emerging technology. The article discuses in details what is ICT professionals and what entails risk reduction.Hassin (2009) discusses the link between operation strategy and strategic human resource manag ement for NGOs which operates in unstable environment. The article discusses how HRM need to be proactive and responsible to change in operation environment.RelevanceThe article is relevant to the area is researching. It contains credible literature and the sources used are all credible. The article also discusses in details the subject it is researching.Critical ReviewI find this article most appropriate for the research.   It has looked into the subject of research in greater detail and has used credible literature. However, it has not taken in-depth primary research but solely relies on secondary researchConclusionThis journal has covered the areas of research in greater details. It has carefully selected literature to be used in each subtopic and has given enough attention to each topic. It is relevant to the area of research.RecommendationsIn order to make the research more reliable, it is recommended that the article should use primary research since this is considered to be more accurate and reliable compared to secondary data.

Look at Your Fish! by Samuel H. Scudder

'Look at Your Fish!' by Samuel H. Scudder Samuel H. Scudder (1837-1911) was an American entomologist who studied under the noted zoologist Jean Louis Rodolphe Agassiz (1807-1873) at Harvards Lawrence Scientific School. In the following narrative  essay, originally published anonymously in 1874, Scudder recalls his first encounter with Professor Agassiz, who subjected his research students to a rigorous exercise in close observation, analysis, and description  of details. Consider how the investigative process recounted here might be viewed as an aspect of critical thinking- and how that process can be just as important to writers as it is to scientists.   Look at Your Fish!* by Samuel Hubbard Scudder 1 It was more than fifteen years ago that I entered the laboratory of Professor Agassiz, and told him I had enrolled my name in the scientific school as a student of natural history. He asked me a few questions about my object in coming, my antecedents generally, the mode in which I afterward proposed to use the knowledge I might acquire, and finally, whether I wished to study any special branch. To the latter, I replied that while I wished to be well grounded in all departments of zoology, I purposed to devote myself specially to insects. 2 When do you wish to begin? he asked. 3 Now, I replied. 4 This seemed to please him, and with an energetic Very well, he reached from a shelf a huge jar of specimens in yellow alcohol. 5 Take this fish, said he, and look at it; we call it a haemulon; by and by I will ask what you have seen. 6 With that, he left me, but in a moment returned with explicit instructions as to the care of the object entrusted to me. 7 No man is fit to be a naturalist, said he, who does not know how to take care of specimens. 8 I was to keep the fish before me in a tin tray, and occasionally moisten the surface with alcohol from the jar, always taking care to replace the stopper tightly. Those were not the days of ground glass stoppers, and elegantly shaped exhibition jars; all the old students will recall the huge, neckless glass bottles with their leaky, wax-besmeared corks, half eaten by insects and begrimed with cellar dust. Entomology was a cleaner science than ichthyology, but the example of the professor, who had unhesitatingly plunged to the bottom of the jar to produce the fish, was infectious; and though this alcohol had a very ancient and fish-like smell, I really dared not show any aversion within these sacred precincts, and treated the alcohol as though it were pure water. Still, I was conscious of a passing feeling of disappointment, for gazing at a fish did not commend itself to an ardent entomologist. My friends at home, too, were annoyed, when they discovered that no eau de cologne would drown the perfume which haunted me like a shadow. 9 In ten minutes I had seen all that could be seen in that fish, and started in search of the professor, who had however left the museum; and when I returned, after lingering over some of the odd animals stored in the upper apartment, my specimen was dry all over. I dashed the fluid over the fish as if to resuscitate the beast from a fainting fit, and looked with anxiety for a return of the normal, sloppy appearance. This little excitement over, nothing was to be done but return to a steadfast gaze at my mute companion. Half an hour passed- an hour- another hour; the fish began to look loathsome. I turned it over and around; looked it in the face- ghastly; from behind, beneath, above, sideways, at a three-quarters view- just as ghastly. I was in despair; at an early hour I concluded that lunch was necessary; so, with infinite relief, the fish was carefully replaced in the jar, and for an hour I was free. 10 On my return, I learned that Professor Agassiz had been at the museum, but had gone and would not return for several hours. My fellow-students were too busy to be disturbed by continued conversation. Slowly I drew forth that hideous fish, and with a feeling of desperation again looked at it. I might not use a magnifying glass; instruments of all kinds were interdicted. My two hands, my two eyes, and the fish: it seemed a most limited field. I pushed my finger down its throat to feel how sharp the teeth were. I began to count the scales in the different rows until I was convinced that that was nonsense. At last a happy thought struck me- I would draw the fish, and now with surprise, I began to discover new features in the creature. Just then the professor returned. 11 That is right, said he; a pencil is one of the best of eyes. I am glad to notice, too, that you keep your specimen wet, and your bottle corked. 12 With these encouraging words, he added, Well, what is it like? 13 He listened attentively to my brief rehearsal of the structure of parts whose names were still unknown to me; the fringed gill-arches and movable operculum; the pores of the head, fleshy lips and lidless eyes; the lateral line, the spinous fins, and forked tail; the compressed and arched body. When I had finished, he waited as if expecting more, and then, with an air of disappointment: You have not looked very carefully; why, he continued, more earnestly, you havent even seen one of the most conspicuous features of the animal, which is as plainly before your eyes as the fish itself; look again, look again! and he left me to my misery. 14 I was piqued; I was mortified. Still more of that wretched fish! But now I set myself to my task with a will and discovered one new thing after another until I saw how just the professors criticism had been. The afternoon passed quickly, and when, towards its close, the professor inquired: 15 Do you see it yet? 16 No, I replied, I am certain I do not, but I see how little I saw before. 17 That is the next best, said he earnestly, but I wont hear you now; put away your fish and go home; perhaps you will be ready with a better answer in the morning. I will examine you before you look at the fish. 18 This was disconcerting; not only must I think of my fish all night, studying without the object before me, what this unknown but most visible feature might be; but also, without reviewing my new discoveries, I must give an exact account of them the next day. I had a bad memory; so I walked home by the Charles River in a distracted state, with my two perplexities. 19 The cordial greeting from the professor the next morning was reassuring; here was a man who seemed to be quite as anxious as I that I should see for myself what he saw. 20 Do you perhaps mean, I asked, that the fish has symmetrical sides with paired organs? 21 His thoroughly pleased Of course! of course! repaid the wakeful hours of the previous night. After he had discoursed most happily and enthusiastically- as he always did- upon the importance of this point, I ventured to ask what I should do next. 22 Oh, look at your fish! he said, and left me again to my own devices. In a little more than an hour he returned and heard my new catalog. 23 That is good, that is good! he repeated; but that is not all; go on; and so for three long days he placed that fish before my eyes; forbidding me to look at anything else, or to use any artificial aid. Look, look, look, was his repeated injunction. 24 This was the best entomological lesson I ever had- a lesson, whose influence has extended to the details of every subsequent study; a legacy the professor has left to me, as he has left it to many others, of inestimable value, which we could not buy, with which we cannot part. 25 A year afterward, some of us were amusing ourselves with chalking outlandish beasts upon the museum blackboard. We drew prancing star-fishes; frogs in mortal combat; hydra-headed worms; stately crawfishes, standing on their tails, bearing aloft umbrellas; and grotesque fishes with gaping mouths and staring eyes. The professor came in shortly after and was as amused as any at our experiments. He looked at the fishes. 26 Haemulons, every one of them, he said; Mr. - drew them. 27 True; and to this day, if I attempt a fish, I can draw nothing but haemulons. 28 The fourth day, a second fish of the same group was placed beside the first, and I was bidden to point out the resemblances and differences between the two; another and another followed, until the entire family lay before me, and a whole legion of jars covered the table and surrounding shelves; the odor had become a pleasant perfume; and even now, the sight of an old, six-inch, worm-eaten cork brings fragrant memories! 29 The whole group of haemulons was thus brought in review; and, whether engaged upon the dissection of the internal organs, the preparation and examination of the bony framework, or the description of the various parts, Agassizs training in the method of observing facts and their orderly arrangement, was ever accompanied by the urgent exhortation not to be content with them. 30 Facts are stupid things, he would say, until brought into connection with some general law. 31 At the end of eight months, it was almost with reluctance that I left these friends and turned to insects; but what I had gained by this outside experience has been of greater value than years of later investigation in my favorite groups.*This version of the essay Look at Your Fish! originally appeared in both  Every Saturday: A Journal of Choice Reading  (April 4, 1874) and the Manhattan and de la  Salle Monthly  (July 1874)  under the title In the Laboratory With Agassiz by A Former Pupil.